Ferrari rolled out its all-new Portofino entry-level model at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show this week, but that wasn’t the only notable vehicle the Italian automaker has on display in Germany.
Ferrari also showed off the one-of-one 488 Spider ‘Heartthrob’ – which is part of the Tailor Made line of vehicles it has built to celebrate its 70th Anniversary. The car is styled after the Pininfarina-bodied 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial spider once owned by Dominican racing driver Porfirio Rubirosa. That car was driven by Rubirosa in a race in Santa Barbara in September of 1954, where he finished eighth overall and second in class. He later sold the car to American John Von Neumann, who won two races in it at Pomona and Santa Barbara.
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The 488 Spider Heartthrob is sporting blue exterior with ‘235’ displayed on the driver’s and passenger’s doors – the same number that Rubirosa’s 500 Mondial wore. The interior is also red like the Dominican driver’s famous racecar and features blue contrasting stitching on the dash, steering wheel and elsewhere. If you’re wondering about the name, Rubirosa was apparently quite the ladies’ man. According to Ferrari, the racing driver, who was also a former soldier and a suspected political assassin, “dallied with some of the world’s most beautiful women,” including Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, and Veronica Lake.
Porfirio’s old car is now owned by a Californian enthusiast, who had it restored by Ferrari’s Classiche department last year. It’s not clear if he’s the soon-to-be owner of this car, but it’d make a great addition to his collection.
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